Apparatus and method for inserting angle plates and closing duct seams

ABSTRACT

An apparatus and method are described for automatically inserting angle plates into duct work and for seaming the duct work.

RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims benefit of and is a division of non-provisionalapplication Ser. No. 14/296,084 filed Jun. 4, 2014, pending, whichclaims benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/956,230,filed Jun. 4, 2013, entitled “Apparatus And Method For Inserting AnglePlates And Closing Duct Seams,” which applications are incorporatedherein by reference in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to an apparatus and method forautomatically inserting angle plates into duct work and seaming the ductwork.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Rectangular or box shaped ducts are extensively used in heating andventilating systems to distribute heated or cooled air throughout thestructure. These ducts are commonly formed from different gauges ofsheet metal in sections of predetermined length which are then connectedto form a continuous duct for distributing air. Each section of duct isformed by bending two pieces of sheet metal of the desired length at aninety degree angle and with the Pittsburgh type seam one edge of eachpiece is formed with a longitudinally extending groove to form thefemale portion of the joint while the other edge is bent over along itslength to form the male portion of the joint. The two parts are thenassembled by inserting the male portion of each part into the femaleportion leaving an edge extending beyond the joint from the femaleportion, which edge must then be bent over to lock the seam. Apparatusare known in which to automatically close the duct seam, including aPittsburgh seam, including the commercial apparatus sold by the IowaPrecision Industries Division of Mestek Machinery, Inc. (“IPI”) underthe trademark WHISPER-LOC®. The WHISPER-LOC® machine has beencommercially successful in the marketplace for automatically seamingduct work. Such apparatus are also disclosed in IPI's U.S. Pat. No.5,189,784, issued Mar. 2, 1993, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,243,750, issued Sep.14, 1993, and Engel Industries, Inc.'s U.S. Pat. No. 5,353,616, issuedOct. 11, 1994, the disclosures of these patents are incorporated intheir entirety herein by reference. When seaming duct work using theWHISPER-LOC® machine or the apparatus and methods disclosed in thesepatents, the duct must be inserted into the machine in a specificorientation to close the seam.

There is also disclosed in the art an apparatus and method for seaming aPittsburgh seam in a vertical apparatus wherein the seam is said to becompleted regardless of the orientation of the male and female portionsof the Pittsburgh seam as disclosed in U.S. Patent ApplicationPublication Nos. 2012/0186316, published Jul. 26, 2012, and2013/0104614, published May 2, 2013, the disclosures of which areincorporated in their entirety herein by reference.

Additionally, apparatus and methods for placement of angle plates intransverse duct flanges are known and disclosed in Systemation, Inc.'sU.S. Pat. Nos. 5,283,944; 5,321,880; and 5,342,100, the disclosures ofthese patents being incorporated in their entirety herein by reference.Commercial apparatus using the inventions of these patents have beensold under the trademark CORNERMATIC® by IPI. These machines have beencommercially successful and have transformed the industry with respectto the insertion of angle plates into duct work. Additionally, U.S. Pat.No. 5,926,937 discloses a mobile apparatus for placement of angle platesin transverse duct flanges, the disclosure therein being incorporated inits entirety herein by reference. This latter patented technology hasbeen manufactured commercially by IPI and sold under the trademarkCORNER CADET®.

The CORNERMATIC® and CORNER CADET® apparatus and methods have beencommercially successful. They have saved the industry substantial timeand money and made the insertion of angle plates into ductssubstantially easier for sheet metal fabricators, including saving wearand tear on the human body. However, the CORNERMATIC® and CORNER CADET®machines usually cannot accept irregular shaped duct fittings referredto in the industry and herein as “fittings.” As such, workers mustmanually insert the angle plates into the fittings.

Accordingly, while the CORNERMATIC® and CORNER CADET® machines have beenan extremely successful “work-horse” in duct fabricating shops,improvement to these machines and methods are possible, including withrespect to fittings. An improved apparatus and method for automaticallyinserting angle plates into duct flanges has been invented and isdisclosed in Systemation's U.S. patent application Ser. Nos. 14/211,733and 14/211,921, both filed on Mar. 14, 2014, entitled “Apparatus andMethod for Placement of Angle Plates in Transverse Duct Flanges,” thedisclosures of which are incorporated in their entirety herein byreference (collectively referred to as “the '733 Application”). This newapparatus includes novel features and improvements over the CORNERMATIC®and CORNER CADET® machines including, but not limited to, (1) a newapparatus for the automatic insertion of angle plates into duct flanges,including fittings; (2) a new clamp for clamping duct flanges; (3) a newsupply hopper located out of the area of operation; (4) a new presserfor pressing the angle plates into the duct flanges; (5) a new packagefor angle plates; and (6) combinations of the above and other featuresof the apparatus as disclosed in the '733 Application. This newapparatus is now being sold by IPI under the trademark CORNERMATIC®PLUS™. In its short time on the market, the CORNERMATIC® PLUS™ apparatushas received market acceptance.

Additionally, there is disclosed in the '733 Application a new packagingfor the angle plates which packages include a plurality of angle plates,including eighty angle plates, which may be inserted directly into thehopper, thereby saving the time and expense associated with the manualinsertion of the angle plates in limited numbers. The packaging mayinclude a plurality of angle plates contained in a self-containedcardboard package.

Additionally, Systemation's U.S. Pat. No. 5,283,944 discloses a proposedcombination of a seam closer for a Pittsburgh seam and automaticallyinserting angle plates into a duct section including as referenced atFIG. 19 of the patent. However, this conception has never been reducedto practice and there are no known apparatus for automatically insertingangle plates into the piece of duct and automatically closing the seamof a piece of duct. Accordingly, there is a need in the market for asingle machine which will automatically insert angle plates into a pieceof duct and will automatically close the seam of the piece of duct. Suchapparatus will be substantially beneficial to the industry as, amongother things, it will save the expense to contractors of having to havetwo machines in their shop to automatically insert angle plates and toclose a seam; it will save space in a manufacturer's shop by eliminatingthe need for two machines when one machine will do the same job; it willsave contractors time as the single machine will accomplish that of twomachines in a shorter period of time and, therefore, also save laborcosts; and it will make the manufacture of duct easier and moreefficient.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention comprises an apparatus and a method forautomatically inserting angle plates into duct work and automaticallyclosing the seam of the duct work, e.g. a Pittsburgh seam. The apparatuscomprises a platen for receiving a duct and an assembly forautomatically inserting angle plates into the duct and an assembly forautomatically closing the seam of the duct. The assembly forautomatically inserting the angle plates into the duct may besubstantially the same or similar in part to that disclosed inSystemation's U.S. Pat. No. 5,283,944 or Systemation's U.S. patentapplication Ser. Nos. 14/211,733 and 14/211,921, both filed Mar. 14,2014, or combinations thereof, and which disclosures have beenincorporated in their entirety herein by reference. The assemblycomprises an adjustable dual head, namely a lower head and an upperhead, for concurrently inserting angle plates at the lower and upperends of the duct. The upper head is vertically adjustable to accommodatedifferent sizes of duct. Such assemblies may include a clamp member orclamp members for clamping the duct into position on the platen; a feedmember for feeding an angle plate into place in the duct flange; a pressmember or press members for pressing an angle plate into the flange; anangle plate supply hopper for receiving a plurality of angle plates,preferably in a package, or other assembly for supplying angle plates tothe feed member; and crimper members for crimping the duct flange afterthe angle plate has been inserted into the duct flange.

In a presently preferred embodiment of the invention, the angle plateswill first be inserted into the duct work prior to closing the seam ofthe duct. This is the opposite of what is most often currently done inthe industry. Specifically, the current industry practice is to use theWHISPER-LOC® machine to automatically close the Pittsburgh seam and thento use the CORNERMATIC® machine to automatically insert angle plates. Ithas been found with the apparatus and method of this invention that byinserting the angle plates first, this will straighten and square theduct and allow for an easier closing of the seam in the duct.

The seam closing assembly of the present invention includes a seamingcarriage having a horizontal bar and carrier with seam forming members;a pair of linear rails upon which the seam closing carriage moves up anddown; a pair of endless chain drives for moving the carriage by, forexample, an electric motor; the carrier includes a housing connected tothe horizontal bar having seam forming members which may comprise first,second and third rollers, in vertical orientation, connected to thecarrier. The first roller will begin the seam closing by bending theedge portion of the female member of the Pittsburgh seam and the secondand third rollers will complete the closure by bending the edge memberto close the seam. Alternative seam forming members may also be usedwithout departing from the scope of the invention, including asdisclosed herein. In the preferred embodiments, the seam closingassembly will close the seam of the duct no matter of the orientation inwhich the duct is inserted into the apparatus.

Accordingly, the apparatus of the invention may comprise a combinationangle plate inserter machine and seam closer machine for automaticallyinserting angle plates into a duct and closing a seam of a duct. Theapparatus may include a dual head assembly having an upper head and alower head wherein each head includes (1) a platen for receiving a duct;and (2) an assembly for automatically inserting an angle plate into theduct at each end of the duct, including at each of the lower and upperheads at least one clamping member for clamping the duct into positionon the platen, a feed member for feeding an angle plate into place in aduct flange, at least one press member for pressing an angle plate intothe duct flange, a supply hopper for supplying angle plates to the feedmember, and at least one crimper member for crimping the flange of theduct over the angle plate after it has been inserted into the ductflange. The apparatus further includes a seam closing assembly forautomatically closing a seam of a duct comprising a pair of verticalsupport members constructed and arranged outside the work area of theassembly for automatically inserting the angle plate, a seam closingcarriage connected to the vertical support members and having ahorizontal member with a housing having a seam forming member, and meansfor moving the seam closing carriage up and down the vertical supportmembers. When a duct is clamped in position, the seam closing assemblywill automatically close the duct seam.

These and other objects of the invention will be apparent from thefollowing description of the preferred embodiments of the invention andfrom the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The following detailed description of the specific non-limitingembodiments of the present invention can be best understood when read inconjunction with the following drawings, where like structures areindicated by like reference numbers.

Referring to the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of the apparatus of the invention inpart without the protective coverings and showing some, but not all, ofthe parts of the apparatus.

FIG. 2 is a rear view of the apparatus of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a side view of the apparatus of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an angle plate.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a package of angle plates.

FIG. 6 is a partial bottom view of the angle plate package of FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged front view of parts of the lower head of theapparatus of FIG. 1.

FIG. 8 is a further enlarged front view of the lower head of theapparatus of FIG. 1.

FIG. 9 is a close up top perspective view of the upper head of theinvention.

FIG. 10 is a close up view of a clamping member of the lower head of theapparatus of FIG. 1.

FIG. 11 is a close up view in partial cross-section of another clampingmember of the lower head of the apparatus of FIG. 1.

FIG. 12 is a close up side view in partial cross-section showing a pressmember of the lower head of the apparatus of FIG. 1.

FIG. 13 is a close up view of a crimping member of the lower head of theapparatus of FIG. 1.

FIG. 14 is a close-up view of the angle plate advancing member of thelower head of the apparatus of FIG. 1.

FIG. 15 is a partial view in part in cross-section showing the clampingmembers positioning a piece of insulated duct work.

FIG. 16 is a close-up view of a part of the drive assembly for the seamclosing assembly of the apparatus of FIG. 1.

FIG. 17 is a close-up view of the seam closing assembly including theseam closing carriage support, the seam closing carriage drives (inpart), the seam closing carriage bar and the housing with the seamclosing member.

FIG. 18 is a close-up view of the housing and seam closing member ofFIG. 17. FIG. 18A is a close up back side view of the carriage and showsconnection of the housing to the carriage.

FIGS. 19A-19C are a top view of a piece of duct in the apparatus of FIG.1 showing the steps of the seam closing of a Pittsburgh seam.

FIG. 20 is a front view of an alternative seam closing member.

FIG. 21 is a front view of another alternative seam closing member.

FIG. 22 is a front view of another alternative seam closing member.

FIG. 23 is a front view of another alternative seam closing member.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring to the Figures, the present invention is directed to a newapparatus and method for automatically inserting angle plates into ductflanges and automatically closing the seam of the duct. The apparatus 10is a dual head apparatus, the lower and upper heads being substantiallysimilar. For ease of reference, the lower head assembly will bedescribed with the understanding that the upper head is substantiallysimilar, except when otherwise indicated. The apparatus includes aplaten 20 for receiving a duct D. The duct D shown in FIGS. 12 and 15has a duct flange and may be a TDC or TDF duct flange or similar ductflange. Other ducts without flanges may be seamed such as a slip onconnector; and slip and drive duct work, such as shown in FIG. 3. Theapparatus includes guide posts 22 and guide bars 24 for positioning theduct in position. It is understood that a work table will be placedadjacent to the machine for working with the duct and the angle plateinsertion and duct seaming, or the machine may be built into the groundof a fabricator's workshop. The apparatus further includes clampingmembers 30 and 32 for clamping the duct into position; a feed member 60for feeding an angle plate into place in the duct flange; press members70 for pressing an angle plate into the duct flange; and an angle platesupport hopper 90 for receiving a plurality of angle plates, e.g. in apackage 160, or other angle plate supply assemblies for supplying angleplates to the feed member; and crimper members 120 for crimping the ductflange after the angle plate has been inserted into the duct. Theseforegoing members are used for automatically inserting angle plates intothe duct work and for also holding the duct work in position forautomatically seaming the duct. As previously stated, in a preferredapparatus and method, the duct work first has angle plates inserted intoa duct flange at each of the top and bottom corners of the duct, i.e. adual head angle plate inserter apparatus (angle plates are also known as“corners” in the industry). Thereafter, the apparatus and method willclose the seam of the duct, e.g. a Pittsburgh seam, although other typesof seams may be closed using the apparatus and method of the invention.

The angle plate insertion mechanisms of the apparatus may be generallyas disclosed in the commercial CORNERMATIC® machine; Systemation's U.S.Pat. No. 5,283,944; the CORNERMATIC® PLUS™ machine; Systemation's U.S.application Ser. Nos. 14/211,733 and 14/211,921 or combinations of thesedisclosures, which disclosures have been incorporated in their entiretyherein by reference and may not be repeated in detail herein.

The primary components of the apparatus are discussed in greater detailhereafter with reference to the lower head of the apparatus, the upperhead being substantially the same, and include a platen 20, clampingmembers 30 and 32 for clamping the duct in position; a feed member 60for feeding an angle plate into place in the duct flange; press members70 for pressing an angle plate into the flange; an angle plate supplyhopper 90 for receiving a plurality of angle plates for supplying angleplates to the feed member from, for example, an angle plate package; andcrimper members 120 for crimping the duct flange after the angle platehas been inserted into the duct flange. These components of theinvention will be discussed in greater detail below.

The platen 20 includes guide posts 22 and guide bars 24 for positioningthe duct in place in the machine. Guide posts 22 are fastened adjacentto the platen 20. As stated above, the apparatus may seam both duct workhaving duct flanges (which require angle plate insertion) such as TDCand TDF duct work or duct work not having duct flanges (which do notrequire angle plate insertion) such as a slip on connector or slip anddrive duct work. With duct work having flanges, the flanges contact theguide posts 22. For duct work with and without flanges, the duct sidescontact the guide bars 24. The guide bars 24 include proximity sensors25 which indicate that a duct is in position and starts the angle plateinsertion process as discussed below. Additionally, the apparatusincludes light beam bars 26 which include a light beam source 26 a and alight beam receiving member 26 b for generating light beam 26 c to sensewhen a duct is in place and not seamed as the open ended female edgeportion as seen, for example in FIG. 19A, breaks the light beam, e.g. afiber optic light beam. The machine, therefore, knows that the seamneeds to be closed after the angle plate insertion operation. It isunderstood that other means for detecting the open-ended female edgeportion may be used or a manual means for engaging the seam closingassembly may be used.

With respect to the clamp members 30, as shown for example in FIGS. 7, 8and 10, the clamp member 30 includes a clamp arm 32 for clamping theduct work in place. There are two clamp members 30 which function thesame and clamp adjacent flanges of a duct. Clamp arm 32 includes a clamphead 34 and clamp finger 36 which engages the duct flange. Clamp arm 32is connected to clamp block by a pin upon which the clamp arm 32 pivots.Clamp 30 is attached to an air cylinder 40 by pin member 41. Piston 42moves the clamp arm 32 from an unclamped to a clamped position. Theclamp members 30 are triggered to clamp the duct work in place byproximity sensors 25 as seen, for example, in FIGS. 1, 7 (partial cutaway showing only one guide bar) and 8. When the duct sides engageproximity sensors 25, the proximity sensors 25 signal the start of theangle plate insertion process causing air cylinder 40 and piston 42 tomove the clamp arms 32 downward and clamp the duct flange into position.During the clamping process, the clamp members 30 pull the flange of theduct outward and will also straighten out any duct flange which has beendeformed. This provides for easier receipt of an angle plate into theduct flange. More specifically, the clamp members 30 pull the duct intoplace and then clamps the duct into position for receiving the angleplate. In doing so, it flattens out the flanges so that there is nointerference between the duct flange and the feeding of the angle plateto the duct flange. The clamp members 30 also open up the area of thechannel which allows for easier placement of an angle plate into theflange.

Referring, for example, to FIGS. 1, 7, 8 and 11, there is shown a secondclamping member 32. This clamping member 32 clamps the duct work intoplace on the inside of the duct. Clamping member 32, in conjunction withclamping members 30, secures the duct in place. Clamping member 32 isshaped in a cylindrical configuration to avoid tearing insulation orother materials adhered to the inside of the duct. Similarly, otherradius configurations may be used. However, it is understood that notall ducts include insulation. The clamping member 32 generally includesa positioning member 44 which is pivotally mounted on a transverse pivotpin 46 mounted below the platen 20 with the platen 20 having anelongated notch 48 therein which permits the positioning member 44 toswing upwardly from the recess position. Below the top surface of theplaten as shown in FIG. 11, the positioning member 44 is mounted formovement on the end of a piston rod 52 of a cylinder 54. Referring toFIG. 15, there is a piece of insulated duct D having a TDF flange beingclamped into place by clamping members 30 and 32. While the preferredembodiment includes clamping members 30 and 32, it is understood thatonly clamping members 30 or clamping members 32 may be used to positionand hold the duct work in place.

Referring, for example, to FIGS. 2, 7 and 14, the feed member 60 feedsthe angle plate into the duct flange. The feed member 60 slides forwardand has a V-shaped member 62 which engages an angle plate 12 and movesthe angle plate into engagement with the duct flange. The feed member 60moves along tracks 63 in plate 64. Feed member 60 as shown in theFigures is operated by an air cylinder 66 having piston rods 68connected to feed plate 60. The operating stroke of the piston rods 68and feed plate 60 push an angle plate from the bottom of the stack ofangle plates in, for example, an angle plate package 160 (shown cut-awayin FIG. 14) under plate 64 to engage an adjacent corner of a duct andoverlying the two adjacent duct channel flanges.

The angle plate 12 useful in the invention and in the packagingdiscussed hereafter is as disclosed in, for example, U.S. Pat. No.5,342,100, and sold commercially by IPI and Ductmate Industries, Inc.under the trademark CORNERMATIC® and shown in FIG. 4. The angle plate 12includes legs 14, corner 16, projections 17 and bolt hole 18.

Referring to FIGS. 5 and 6, there is illustrated a package 160 for angleplates 12 for insertion in hopper 90 in both the lower and upper headsof the apparatus. In a preferred embodiment, the package 160 ispreloaded with angle plates and is disposable. The package includes acardboard sleeve 162 holding a plurality of angle plates 12 in place,and preferably in the range of 50 to 100 angle plates and morepreferably in the range of 70 to 90 angles and most preferably 80 angleplates. The package 160 is useful in the full line of machines sold byMestek under the CORNERMATIC® trademark and, therefore, depending on themachine, portions of the top and bottom of the package are designed tobe removed depending upon the machine in which the package is used. Forexample, the top of the cardboard sleeve will include a removableportion 164 for creating an opening 166 exposing angle plates 12 for usein the upper head of the present invention or in the CORNERMATIC® PLUS™machine. Referring to FIG. 6, there is shown the bottom of package 160having openings 168 and which extend up the two side walls as shown inFIG. 5. For use in the lower head of the apparatus of this invention,pull tabs 176 and bottom portion 178 are removed from the packaging andinserted in hopper 90. When used in the upper head of the apparatus ofthe invention, the opposite end 164 of package 160 is removed forinserting package 160 into the hopper.

In a preferred embodiment, the angle plates 12 are carried in package160. As partially shown in FIG. 7, the package 160 is inserted into aV-shaped opening 70 corresponding to the shape of the package. Referringto FIGS. 1, 2 and 14, machine 10 has a hopper 90 having V-shaped housingmember 92 for receiving package 160 and which is held in place by gate94. Gate 94 is opened and closed on a hinge 96. Latch 98 maintains thegate 94 closed. Therefore, a plurality of angle plates, in a preferredembodiment 80 angle plates, may be easily loaded into the upper andlower heads of the apparatus.

Referring, for example, to FIGS. 7, 8 and 12, the apparatus includespress members 70 adjacent to each side of the duct work. The pressers 70will press the angle plate down into position in the duct flange.Preferably, the pressers 70 will press the angle plate axially.Referring to FIG. 12, there is shown a partial cross-section of an aircylinder of the press member 70 showing a press head 72 connected to anair cylinder 74 having a piston rod 76 for moving the press head 72 forpressing an angle plate. The press head includes a press wedge 82 forcontacting the angle plate and pressing the angle plate into the flange.

Referring, for example, to FIG. 13, the apparatus includes crimpermembers 120 for crimping the duct flange to hold the angle plate in theflange. The crimper mechanism is generally as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No.5,283,944. The crimper members 120 extend upwardly through an opening inthe platen 20. Each crimping member is carried by an angle lever 122which is pivotally mounted on a pivot pin. The angle lever is connectedto an air cylinder 124 having a piston rod 126 for movement of the anglelever. The crimper member 120 includes crimper arm 128 for engaging andcrimping the duct flange.

As stated above, the above description has generally referenced theangle plate inserter components in relation to the lower head assembly.The components are substantially similar for the upper head and will notbe repeated in detail herein. The upper head is shown, for example, inFIGS. 1, 2, 3 and 9.

Referring to FIG. 3, there is generally shown the pneumatic controlpanel 130. This panel includes air regulators and a pneumatic manifoldwith control valves for operating the air cylinders for the upper andlower heads of the apparatus. Each valve has a manual override which canbe used for setup and maintenance. The control panel includes incomingair supply regulators; incoming air supply regulator gauges; valves forthe clamping members 30; valves for clamping members 32; valves for thefeed members 60; valves for the presser members 70; and valves for thecrimping members 120. Each valve has a manual override valve. It isunderstood that the apparatus may also be operated by electricalcontrols or other means known to those skilled in the art.

FIG. 3 also shows platen 20 which is adjustable to accommodate differentsize duct. Platen 20 adjusts by air piston 280 and piston rods 282 andincludes a support member 284 at the rear of the machine through whichrod 286 moves up and down.

The operating sequence of the machine, as discussed hereafter, iscontrolled by a programmable logic control (PLC) which may be located inan electrical enclosure 140 on the machine. The machine may operate witha standard 220 VAC outlet circuit. When the machine is plugged into apower source, power may be applied to the system and the PLC by pressingon a power on push-button switch. Power may be removed by pressing apower off push-button switch. The machine operation may be controlled bya series of inputs within the PLC. As discussed below, the sequence isactivated by the proximity sensors 25 that connect to inputs of the PLC.Once these inputs are activated, the sequence of the corner insertionbegins and steps through to completion as discussed hereafter. When ductwork without flanges are to be seamed, the control panel includes aseparate control for operation of the seam closing assembly.

In the angle plate insertion operation, the duct fitting will be placedon the platen 20 of the apparatus and pushed against guide posts 22 andguide bars 24 where it will engage proximity sensors 25. This causes theclamp members 30 and 32 to clamp the duct work into place. During theclamping stage, the clamps 30 will pull the flange of the duct outwardand straighten out the flange for easier receipt of the angle plate. Theclamp will also pull the duct in place and then flatten the flanges sothat there is no interference of the duct during the angle plate feedcycle. This also widens out the flange and allows for easier integrationof the angle plate into the flange. Clamp 32 pivots upward and furtherpositions the duct. Once the duct fitting is clamped in place, feedmembers 60 moves an angle plate into place in the duct flange. Once theangle plate is in place, press members 70 will axially press the angleplate down into position in the duct flange. Once the angle plate ispressed into place, crimpers 120 will cause crimping arms 128 to crimpthe flange over the angle plate to hold the angle plate in the flange.An angle plate is inserted in the lower and upper ends of the duct. Theduct may require anywhere from one to four seams. The assembly forseaming will engage when the light beam 26 c senses that there is anon-seamed corner of the duct in position for seaming.

The apparatus 10 further includes a seam closing assembly 200 comprisingseam closing support members 210 which provide support for a seamclosing carriage 220. The seam closing support members 210 may be linearrails. The support members are attached to the frame of the apparatus bysuitable fasteners such as bolts (not shown). The seam closing carriage220 includes a horizontal bar 222. Bar 222 includes guide members 224which ride on support members 210 and chain members 226 for connectingchain drives at the ends of the bar 222. Bar 222 includes a seam closingcarrier including a housing 228 having a seam forming member. The seamclosing carriage 220 moves vertically on linear rails 210. The seamclosing carriage moves by endless chain drives 250. Referring, forexample, to FIG. 16, the chain drives 250 are moved by an electric motor260 having a drive shaft 262 and drive sprockets 264 engaging each chaindrive 250.

As seen in FIG. 3 and discussed above, the apparatus 10 includes anadjustable upper head which will move up and down by piston member 280and include supports 284 at each side of the rear of the machine forvertical movement of rods 286. For example, a slip on connector or slipand drive duct work is generally longer than flanged ducts and the upperhead must be raised to accommodate this type of duct work.

The assembly further includes at the lower and upper heads bolts 290 tomechanically stop the carriage and electrical switch 292 which thecarriage will contact to electrically stop the carriage. Bolts 290 areattached to the platens 20.

A housing 228 is connected to the horizontal bar 222 as shown, forexample, in FIGS. 17 and 18. The housing 228 preferably has some play toallow slight horizontal movement, e.g. about an eighth to one-quarterinch, in the event the open duct seam is not completely square and/orcentered in the machine. Referring to FIG. 18A, the housing 228 moves onthe carrier 222 by using four slotted holes 287 through which fastenersF extend to connect housing 228 to bar 222.

Referring to FIG. 18, the rollers are attached to the housing 228 bypins 270 and will rotate. The housing 228 includes seam forming memberswhich include a first roller 272 having a straight surface 272 a; asecond roller 274 having about a 120 to 145 degree V-shape 274 a, 135degrees is shown and preferred; and a third roller 276 having about an85 to 90 degree V-shape 276 a, 88 degrees is shown and preferred. Theseseam forming members will form or close the seam of the duct asdiscussed below. The duct may be placed in the apparatus in anyorientation and the seaming assembly will close the duct seam.

In operation, after the corners are inserted into the flanges of theduct (assuming a duct having flanges), the clamping members will holdthe duct into position. When an unseamed duct corner is sensed by lightbeam 26 c, the seaming operation takes place. The carriage will startthe seaming operation from the bottom of the machine and move up alonglinear rails 210 by chain drive members 250. The seam forming members272, 274 and 276, will close the Pittsburgh seam as shown in FIGS.19A-C. As seen in FIG. 19A, roller 272 will first engage the edge of thefemale seam member and bend the seam approximately forty-five degrees.Thereafter, the second roller 274 will further bend the edge of thefemale seam member as seen in FIG. 19B (a partial cut-away not showingroller 272). Thereafter, roller 276 will further bend the edge of thefemale seam member ninety degrees to complete the closing of the seam asseen in FIG. 19C (a partial cut-away not showing rollers 272 and 274).The carriage will then move back down to provide a smooth and cleanfinish to the duct seam.

Referring to FIG. 20, there is shown an alternative seam forming member290 having roller formers 292, 294 and 296. These seam forming membersare similar to that of FIG. 18 except that the third roll forming member296 is substituted with two roll forming members 296 a and 296 b. Thisseam forming member closes the seam similar to that shown in FIG. 18.

Referring to FIG. 21, there is shown an alternative seam forming member300. This seam forming member includes a cylindrical roller 302 and tworoll-forming members 304 and 306 connected to the housing 228. Inoperation, roller 302 first bends the female edge 45 degrees. Rollers304 and 306 complete the seam closing bending the female edge 90degrees.

Referring to FIG. 22, there is shown an alternative seam forming member310. This seam forming member includes a cylindrical roller 312 andspherical balls 314 and 316 connected to the carrier 222 by a pin (notshown) and separated by a plate 318. This seam forming member closes theseam similar to that shown in FIG. 21.

Referring to FIG. 23, there is shown an alternative seam forming member320. The seam forming member includes a cylindrical roller 322 having aflat portion 322 a; a pair of cam followers 324 a and 324 b having acombined angle of about 120 to 145 degrees, 135 degrees is shown andpreferred; and pair of cam followers 326 a and 326 b having a combinedangle of about 85 to 90 degrees, 88 degrees is shown and preferred. Thisseam forming member closes the seam similar to that shown in FIG. 18.

It is understood that other seam forming members may be used withoutdeparting from the scope of the invention.

The exemplary embodiments herein disclosed are not intended to beexhaustive or to unnecessarily limit the scope of the invention. Theexemplary embodiments were chosen and described in order to explain theprinciples of the present invention so that others skilled in the artmay practice the invention. As will be apparent to one skilled in theart, various modifications can be made within the scope of the aforesaiddescription. Such modifications being within the ability of one skilledin the art form a part of the present invention and are embraced by theappended claims.

It is claimed:
 1. A method for automatically inserting angle plates intoa duct flange and for automatically closing a seam of a duct comprising(a) inserting a duct having transverse flanges into an apparatus adaptedto automatically insert angle plates into said duct flanges and toautomatically close a seam of said duct; (b) said apparatus including adual head assembly having a lower head and an upper head wherein eachhead includes a platen for receiving a duct and an assembly forautomatically inserting an angle plate into a duct flange, said assemblyfor automatically inserting an angle plate into a duct flange includingat least one clamping member for clamping the duct into position on theplaten, a feed member for feeding an angle plate into place in the ductflange, at least one press member for pressing an angle plate into theduct flange, and a supply hopper having a plurality of angle plates forsupplying angle plates to the feed member (c) said apparatus furtherincluding a seam closing assembly for automatically closing a seam of aduct comprising a pair of vertical support members constructed andarranged outside of the work area of the assembly for automaticallyinserting an angle plate, a seam closing carriage connected to thevertical support members and having a horizontal member with a housinghaving a seam forming member, and means for moving the seam closingcarriage up and down the vertical support members; (d) clamping saidduct into said apparatus; (e) inserting angle plates into said ductflanges; and (f) closing the seam of said duct, wherein said carriageassembly moves vertically on said vertical support members and whereinsaid seam forming member closes the seam of said duct.
 2. The methodaccording to claim 1 wherein said dual head assembly further comprisesat least one crimper member for crimping the flange of the duct over theangle plate after the angle plate has been inserted into the ductflange.
 3. The method according to claim 1 wherein the apparatus isadapted to first insert angle plates in the duct flange and then closean open seam of the duct.
 4. The method according to claim 1 wherein thelower head and the upper head each include a pair of light bars to sensethe presence of an unreamed duct corner and a first of said light barsincludes a light source and a second of said light bars includes a meansfor detecting the light source.
 5. The method according to claim 1wherein said seam forming member comprises a plurality of roll formingmembers and adapted to close the duct seam no matter of the orientationof the duct.
 6. The method according to claim 5 wherein said pluralityof roll forming members comprises three roll forming members in verticalrelation, the upper-most roll forming member having a flat area, thecenter roll forming member having about an 85 to 90 degree V-shapemember; and the lower-most roll forming member having about a 120 to 145degree V-shape.
 7. The method according to claim 5 wherein saidplurality of roll forming members comprises two roll forming members invertical relation, the upper-most roll forming member having a flat areaand adapted to begin the seam closing, and the lower-most roll formingmember adapted to complete the seam closing and selected from the groupconsisting of two adjacent roll forming members and two adjacentspherical balls.
 8. The method according to claim 5 wherein saidplurality of roll forming members comprises three roll forming membersin vertical relation, the upper-most roll forming member having a flatarea; the center roll forming member comprising two adjacent camfollowers having a combined angle of about 120 to 145 degrees, and alower-most roll forming member comprising two adjacent cam followershaving a combined angle of about 85 to 90 degrees.
 9. The methodaccording to claim 1 wherein said platen includes guide posts and guidebars for positioning said duct; said guide bars include proximitysensors adapted to sense the position of the duct and to begin thesequence of the angle plate insertion; said at least one clamping membercomprises a pair of clamping members adapted to clamp the duct flangeand a clamp which pivots from the underside of the platen to engage theinside of the duct to hold the duct in place.
 10. The method accordingto claim 1 wherein said seam closing carriage is adapted to close saidduct seam by moving vertically upward on said vertical support membersand said seam closing carriage thereafter moves vertically downward tofurther finish the seam closing and return the seam closing carriage toits starting position.
 11. The method according to claim 1 wherein saidat least one clamping member comprises a pair of clamping membersadapted to clamp the duct flange, said clamping members comprising aclamp arm, a clamp head and a clamp finger adapted to engage said ductflange to lock said flange in place.
 12. The method according to claim11 wherein said clamping members during locking of the duct are adaptedto pull the flange outward and straighten out any duct flange having adeformation.
 13. The method according to claim 1 wherein said at leastone clamping member comprises a clamp which pivots from the underside ofthe platen to engage the inside of the duct to hold the duct in place.14. The method according to claim 13 wherein said clamping member iscylindrical in shape.
 15. The method according to claim 11 furthercomprising a clamping member adapted to pivot from the underside of theplaten to engage the inside of the duct to hold the duct in place. 16.The method according to claim 1 wherein said upper head is adjustableand said apparatus is adapted to receive different lengths of duct. 17.The method according to claim 1 wherein said at least one pressercomprises two pressers adapted to axially press said angle plate intosaid duct flange.
 18. The method according to claim 1 wherein saidsupply hopper comprises a V-shaped member and having a gate adapted tolock into place a package of angle plates and a package having aplurality of angle plates, wherein said package comprises a sleevehaving at least one closure member at an end thereof.
 19. A method forautomatically closing a seam of a duct comprising (a) inserting a ductinto an apparatus adapted to automatically insert angle plates into ductflanges and to automatically close a seam of said duct; (b) saidapparatus including a dual head assembly having a lower head and anupper head wherein each head includes a platen for receiving a duct andan assembly for automatically inserting an angle plate into a ductflange, said assembly for automatically inserting an angle plate into aduct flange including at least one clamping member for clamping the ductinto position on the platen, a feed member for feeding an angle plateinto place in the duct flange, at least one press member for pressing anangle plate into the duct flange, and a supply hopper having a pluralityof angle plates for supplying angle plates to the feed member (c) saidapparatus further including a seam closing assembly for automaticallyclosing a seam of a duct comprising a pair of vertical support membersconstructed and arranged outside of the work area of the assembly forautomatically inserting an angle plate, a seam closing carriageconnected to the vertical support members and having a horizontal memberwith a housing having a seam forming member, and means for moving theseam closing carriage up and down the vertical support members; (d)clamping said duct into said apparatus; and (e) closing the seam of saidduct, wherein said carriage assembly moves vertically on said verticalsupport members and wherein said seam forming member closes the seam ofsaid duct.